Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard didn’t have the best working relationship. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images).

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – He called last season a waste of time, personally and, just in case it had not been obvious to the world long ago, for all the Lakers. It was worse than that, though. It was, Antawn Jamison said, much more tension between Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard than previously acknowledged.

“It was bad,” Jamison told NBA.com Friday night at Sleep Train Arena, where his new team, the Clippers, played the Kings.

The respected veteran forward echoed previous sentiments from Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni that Howard was committed to the team and not simply going through the motions in a season-long countdown to free agency that ultimately led to signing with the Rockets. And Jamison did not single out Bryant or Howard for causing the rift that contributed to championship aspirations turning into a 45-37 record and 4-0 loss in the first round against the Spurs. But he left no doubt the rumored friction was real and an undeniable factor in the underachieving season that also included Mike Brown being fired and replaced by D’Antoni.

“The writing’s on the wall,” Jamison said. “Whatever you say happened between the coaching staff, Kobe and Dwight – it was a combination of everything. Not understanding roles. Not being up front with roles. Our two superstars didn’t get along. Inside the organization as far as which coach to bring in. With that talent, that’s tough to deal with. But of course, championships and successful seasons don’t run because of what’s on the roster. You have to deal with injuries, you have to deal with certain situations that we just didn’t handle the situations at all.”

Asked what struck him most about the Howard-Bryant conflict, Jamison said: “That we couldn’t figure things out. That we couldn’t put the way we felt about certain situations to the side and just play basketball.”

Did Howard need to do something different? Did Bryant?

“I think we all needed to do something different. When I say that, I could have spoke up and said, ‘Let’s figure this out.’ It was a combination of everything. Everything that could have went wrong went wrong.”

If the two had been clicking, would the Lakers have been…?

Jamison didn’t wait for the end of the question.

“A lot better,” he said.

Is that what brought the season down?

“That’s just a small part of it,” Jamison said. “You’ve got to think about it. Not only that, but having Mike (Brown) there and Mike being fired, and D’Antoni coming in and not being able to have his stamp on the system, not being able to get us to play in that system. It was a lot of things. It wasn’t just the thing between Dwight and Kobe. Steve Nash got hurt. Pau Gasol went down. D’Antoni had to play with reserves that had to play a lot of minutes that probably wouldn’t have played that many minutes. Kobe, the injuries, fatigue and stuff like that. When I say anything that could have went wrong went wrong. On top of that, two guys not liking each other or all the stuff coming out in the media and stuff like that, it was just unnecessary stuff that took place with that much talent on the team.”

Jamison’s lone season with the Lakers resulted in 76 appearances at 21.5 minutes a game, primarily in a reserve role, but nothing close to the title he hoped to finally win. He stayed in Los Angeles and signed with the Clippers with the same championship aspirations, possibly with 2013-14 as the last run before retirement, but a different role. The 37-year-old Jamison has not played in the first three outings as the start to the plan by coach Doc Rivers to use him sparingly in the regular season with the intent of being healthy and fresh for the playoffs.

Dwight isn’t lazy, he’s just…not a real basketball player. He never was and never will be, because he never wanted to be. He only chose basketball, because he knew he had the tools to make a lot of money. His first love, is not a sports-related career…so once he got seriously-hurt out on the basketball court, then like any other human being, his true dislike for the game began revealing itself.

That’s why he looks lazy. But he’s not lazy, he’s just disengaged he’s disinterested he’s going through the motions…because basketball isn’t worth that much to him, to try as hard as Shaq or Kareem or Chamberlain did. Basketball was those players’ first love—-but it’s not even Dwight Howards’ first nor second love.

This article is in the past. Current and factual: Kobe is out. Timetable to return undetermined. Dwight Howard is a Houston Rocket. Rockets stats so far say he made a great decision. Lakers are done. However, I am impressed by their rookies so far.

once again i know being a hater is the new thing how many rings do the LAKERS HAVE with out KOBE since 96 do you really think they can win without his killer instinct ? this isn”t the YMCA basketball league lets see how many games they win with out Kobe people love to find fault in this guy who has given everything to the city of LA an the NBA he must have killed your team with his game at some point i know the feeling i didn’t like MJ or Brid at one piont but woke up to realize these guys are great can’t make everybody happy some of you probably hated on Lebron being a hater is the new thing wake up people history will tell how great a person is not my or your personal opinion numbers dont lie people do if some of you fake basketball experts could you would probably take Kobe out of the history books NUMBERS DON’T LIE PEOPLE DO I’m a fan of the game an have seen good an bad in Kobe’s game mostly good look at the all defence of teams he has been on all you guys talk about is offence look at the whole game not just what u can find fault in deep inside i know you guys really want tobe like Kobe an most guys in the NBA want it the same at his age an still on top of his game he came in with people like T Mack IVERSON Grant Hill V Carter now tell me where are they at an how many rings do they have i hope Kobe keeps hurting your sensitive feelings you don’t know by now you cant stop greatness check the record books

Kobe does not want to play and inside out game, he has said it himself that ball has to go through him first before going to anybody else. He does not want to be a second option again as he was when Shaq was on the team. Shaq got traded away for that reason. Kobe has to accept that he’s not as good as he was, and let someone else take the 1st option role. You can’t blame Howard for not wanting to stay. Bynum said that Kobe doesn’t give any room for the young guys to improve, and develop properly, as immature as Bynum still is I believe what he said, for once he made sense. You can hate Howard or anybody that doesn’t want to be a Laker, anybody that has hopes of being the best player they can be won’t take part of a situation like that. On top of that D’ntoni is not a championship coach, he has too much offense, and not enough defense in his basketball scheme to take any team to win a championship. Bottom line Kobe won’t be a champion again as long as he doesn’t give up the 1st option to another capable player.

I don’t think it’s that complicated: Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Good for D12 to find the ability to put this chapter behind him and sign with a team on which he seemingly has a lot more fun than last year.
As for Kobe we all know this guys’ determination to win win win and I think he has proven before that he’s capable of doing that on/with different rosters. From what I’ve seen Howard looks like a guy who wants to feel good on his team, he needs to have fun to get himself going. (Just look at him: the guy’s always smiling, joking, havin’ fun.) I think when he joined the Lakers Kobe has put the pressure on him since day 1 to win it all and all the sudden he realised it wasn’t going to be all that fun. Since winning it all probably was the reason for Dwight to join the Lakers, you can’t blame Kobe for doing that.. the way on which he did that is probably a whole other story and is tough to judge for anybody that has never been in that lockerroom before or after games, so I’m leaving that in the middle. I think that only got worse on nights were Dwight did not preform at all-star/championshipwinner-level. The further the season proceeded, the less Dwight seemed to find his motivation, the more the friction between him and Kobe “came to life” in media and probably was a lot longer in that locker room. To me: That slowly but surely pushed him to the exit.

Like AM said: the Lakers finally look like a team this year which is something we missed last year when everbody was looking at Dwight or Kobe. I was suprised to see them rotate the ball so well in pre-season games and they look like they have (a lot) more depth coming off that bench. The supporting cast indeed makes the difference and I am also curous to see how Kobe will fit in there.
On the other end, I don’t immediatly agree with the fact that Kobe has a problem taking a smaller role if (that big if) he can convince himself that will be the only way to win a championship and if that supporting cast can fill in the void he mostly takes for himself.

To me it was just a mismatch of two totally different characters and they gave it their best, it didn’t work out, so be it. It’s a little far fetched to go and call either of these two players quiters, sell-outs or anything like that. Dwight is one of the most spectacular centers the league knows right now (besides Javale McGee but that has nothing to do with numbers lol) and since everybody likes to compare now-a-day players to MJ: Kobe’s still the closest when it comes to similarities between the two and on top of that you don’t become a hall of famer just like that… he definitely deserves it.

People saying that Dwight isn’t a HoF center? Really? That can’t be a serious statement. Dude has been a what, 8-9 time All-Star? Won Defensive player of the year 3 times. He could retire tomorrow and be in the HoF. His lack of sky hook or free throw shooting doesn’t change that in the slightest.

Like any other championship team and player, they always have a strong supporting cast. The Lakers are playing like a team right now, but it will be interesting to see if Kobe can work in that system. When Kobe must be the sole number one option, the team success is hampered. The Lakers have no other perimeter player that commands the opposing teams defence. Focus your D on him and it will be easier. Do Kobe fans really think he trusts his team right now (other than Pau)? He’s going to attempt to shoulder the load and not trust his teammates; look at their roster.

He has too much of an ego to consider a slightly lesser role to share the ball with role players and win as a team. Instead, as history shows, he attempts to shoulder the load and nothing has come from that formula. His winning is from how his team was able to play with him (Shaq and a team of vets, Odom, Ariza, Artest, players who also drew defensive attention). Who will command opposing teams defence? Nash? Meeks? Blake? Farmer? Ha. Pau, sure but they need another perimeter option.

Nobody would want to play Kobe because he is good, but any contending team in the west right now knows they can beat them.

Andrew Bynum Is Def Not A HOFer . Dwight Wasn’t All That Dominate Last Season . Atleast Not In A Way To Help Kobe Have One Of His Better Seasons . I Would Say This Was Partially Due To Dwight Coming Back Too Early From Injury . Also Andrew Bynum Never Left The Lakers By Choice . He Was Apart Of The Deal That Brought Dwight To LA , A 4 Team Trade If I’m Not Mistaking . If You Thought Andrew Bynum Just Left LA You Probably Don’t Watch Enough Basketball .

First let me say I am a life time laker fan. I am a basketball fan first and laker fan second. In L.A. it’s different than in most other cities. We are Hollywood. It’s all about image you don’t have to be perfect just fair. This has been the character ofea the Laker teams of the past which has made the this organization one of the greatest of all time. With that said Kobe brings a different vibe to the game. I only know Kobe by the fruit he puts forth. Great individual player but by most account hes a jerk. Something doesn’t click with him inside. All that I see is drama Kobe is full of drama. Kobe is the only super star in Laker history that brings out the bad, the ugly and horrible. Dwight , made the right move for the sake of his career and the game. Kobe isn’t a leader he’s a big baby if he doesn’t get his way he becomes a jerk. I haven’t given up on the Lakers yet by they are going in the wrong direction. I think a sale is in order. Maybe Jerry West and Magic and whoever else can put something together. But the future is dark. Team philosophy is in disarray and so is the team. Please, can’t be a Clipper Fan #childhooddistroyed

Another comment on KB24 I have to leave. This guy is awesome at the end of his career still playing at the top of his game. I have not seen too many players maintain. He scores with the best of them defends and can shoot. He is a great free throw shooter and he can drain threes with or with out defense on him. 5 rings currently and I do not think he will call is quits until he gets a 6. we will have to see at 35 years old not bad at all…

Sorry the two did not get along. There was a possibility for another championship if they could have gotton alon in my opinion. About Centers I actually like Bynum better he did help us get a championship or two. He does have a better post game and he can actually shoot free throws. I wish him well in Cleveland this year.

Pau gasol is hall of fame center and he is still playing with kobe…. how many rings do those two have together. Dwight didn’t fit in with kobe its that simple much better with harden.
Kobe is much better with pau . Stop saying bynum left he was traded. Two left shaq got 1 more thanks to WADE and kobe got 2 cause he and pau work very well. Dwight howard(or anybody) would of been dumb to not want to play with harden

Kobe is the best just look at how much ratings have been down since is not playing but the nba starving to Mage superstars when they have not even played half of their carreer why ??? Because they need money otherwise they get no play … Without Kobe in the nba is like cornflakes without the milk…

most of u talking never played the game or never were the man on the team i understand Kobe is a shooting guard not a point guard who has done it better since Micheal Jordan left the game? the best player in the game Lebron now needed players like Wade,Bosh ,Miller, Battie to make it happen how many good seasons did Shaq have after leaving LA? it was time for the big man to move on KOBE is not perfect by no means but he is one of the best to play the game just listen to some of the HOF speak on him no all of his numbers dont match up with MJ but who does Five rings who has this he knows how to win weather you like it or not how can i come into your job an tell u how to win when i never won be smart think with mind not your heart if being a hater was a crime most of u would have life behind bars

Kobe played with two HOF centers. Not 3. Andrew Bynum is not a HOF. He probably coulda been in that sentence if not for the injuries. Maybe he still has a chance to be considered a Hall of Famer if he stays injury free for the rest of his career. Afterall, he’s still young and can put up good numbers. Now, no one shouldn’t have even brought Kareem and Wilt’s name up because they were long retired when Kobe came along. That was just ridiculous.

Yall tawkin about kobe.. Bt the only reason the lakers contend with any team.. Is cuz of kobe.. Teams dont fear the lakers.. Dont plan to play the lakers.. Without kobe the lakers are trash.. Clearly only very few players ever performat the level he does.. Smh.. Everybody is so funny..

All though I don’t think Howard is as good as a lot of people do, you have to look at all the players in the league at his position, is he as good as the great centers of the past no not close, but for the moment he is the best, that’s why he is a max contract player. Is Kobe a selfish ball hog most defiantly, with out a doubt, but he has been the best two guard in the league for a long time. As Jordan got older every team said if you wanna win you got to have a good off-guard. Jamison I always liked and respected you, so good luck in Clipper land, but I think you chose wrong though, should have went to the Spurs. Maybe Doc will wise up and start you instead of Griffin.

Lakers playing like a real team… Nash doing his magic, pau returning like a dominant force… their bench seems energetic… The Question is How long can they stay like that??? I guess until kobe comes back…. If you’re a real basketball fan you will notice it… But if your a kobe fan I don’t know……

yeah Kobe is a great player top 15 but his 5 rings is so over hyped! He rode shaq for first three dont believe me research those series before you reply. When he suppose to be the man he shot 37% from the field for a whole series against Pistons costing LA the finals. And Shaq who played 2nd fiddle that finals due to kobe jacking averaged 28pts 12rbs on 60% from field. Someone said Kobe didnt need superstars to win other 2 is so wrong Gasol best or 2nd best PF during that run. Bynum top 3 center Odom allstar talent Ron Artest was best player on Houston goes to LA and is 5th best player on Lakers. Easily would ve been 2nd best player on those cavs team Lebron played on. He had a super team. And they saved him from blowing 2010 finals. Kobe has played in 7 finals series and averages a touch over 40% from field not quite the big game player in the finals people think he is and he has 1 repeat 1 40 point game in all those finals game. Great player but dont give me 5 rings like he won those by being the man like he s MJ Magic level not close.

And oh one more thing.! No one can ever be a champion ALONE! Theres always 5 A+ players together playing. Even micheal jordan had scotty pipen and dennis rodman! LBRON, WADE, BOSH. Its a 5vs5 game not a streetball 1vs1.

KOBE done all the things that bring greatness to the GAME and also his LAKERS. Dwight will never be a hall of famer. He done nothing except failures and childish attitude. And d12 was only jealous of kobe cause his team got bodied bag by the lakers. orlando-lakers series.

Ah, who knows. I think it was a combination. Dwight was too much like Shaq for the Kobe-Dwight relationship to thrive. That Antawn acknowledged the problems goes to show that the problem was an intrinsic personality conflict. Kobe doesn’t do well with Shaq-Dwight super extroverted super playful types. He seems to detest it.

To all the idiots that thinks Kobe shoots too much, that’s because he get’s paid to shoot that much. Jordan shot just as many and so did Iverson. That’s the way it is. Your franchise player must touch the ball more than the others. The other player in the team must play they roles. That what rodman did for the bulls and that’s what bowen did for the spurs. Except bowen can make the thee so had more touches than rodman did. Kobe is a down right scoring machine, no one can even come close what he can do on offense. That being said he has proven that he can create for his team mate if he had to. But that’s not his role. That should be the point guard’s role. It doesn’t matter how many big men leave the Lakers, it’s the managements decision and not Kobe. Now, the point that the management picks kobe over these big guys only goes to show what Kobe means to LA.

You clearly misunderstand what PPST is and how it is calculated. It is calculated by adding the number of FGA per game and the number of FTA per game and dividing the PPG average by the FGA + FTA. The formula would be PPST = PPG / (FGA per game + FTA per game). Jordan took 31.1 shots per game compared to Kobe’s 27 shots per game, but he also scored more points per game, 30.1 to Kobe’s 25.5. By using the formula for calculating PPST we can see Jordan’s PPST is 0.967 compared to Kobe’s 0.944. Jordan is a better shooter.

So u people believe everything u here cause u never chilled with kobe to know who he really is the media can make ur Great Grandma look like a monster so u believe what other people say who u dont know either dont make since

As far as I’m concerned Kobe played with only 1 HOF center which is Shaq. Bynum’s not a HOF material and especially D12 (although Bynum has better basic fundamentals than D12 and D12 has better conditioning and athleticism than Bynum). While it’s true that Kobe couldn’t win a championship without Shaq, Pau and Bynum, I highly doubt if any superstar player can carry a team by himself?

@Don, you hit it right on the nose! When the Shaq-Kobe Lakers got Karl Malone & Gary Payton they were loaded with talent & Kobe’s ego blew their chances out of the water. Kobe did it again with Dwight. If Kobe doesn’t retire after this season & if the Lakers get another superstar then we’ll see if Kobe does it a third time.

like ive been saying all along kobe is the greatest ballhog player ever and this just proved everything right haha, so who wants to play with a ballhog who shoots 30+ shots a game score 81points while the rest of the team including superstar teammates shoots 5 times a game. dwight made a greatest decision leaving the lakers he will not grow there, only that ballhog wants the limelight all to himself

I’m no doctor, but I feel that Dwight, as good as he is, has what’s called (copied and pasted from Wikipedia): Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder[1] in which the individual is described as being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity.

Kobe’s bad attitude has caused me to never appreciate his game. This guy has never got along with reporters or his teammates. He needs to appreciate the players he plays with, because without them he would definitely have no championships. I’ll never forget the Lakers championships when the team was celebrating in a separate room than Kobe. I have no respect for people who put themselves above GOD. Years down the road after he retires, and there are documentaries on his career, old teammates, opponents, and coaches will speak about his bad attitude.

Kobe’s bad attitude has caused me to never appreciate his game. This guy has never got along with reporters or his teammates. He needs to appreciate the players he plays with, because without them he would definitely have no championships. I’ll never forget the Lakers championships when the team was celebrating in a separate room than Kobe. I have no respect for people who put themselves above GOD. Years down the road after he retires, and there are documentaries on his career, old teammates, opponents, and coaches will speak about his bad attitude. He should just retire, focus on being a good person, and stay away from hotels in Colorado.

I feel that there must have been some disagreement in the front office. Acquiring Dwight Howard and hiring Mike D’Antoni does not add up. I don’t think Kupchak was 100% responsible for all of these moves. They experimented with two styles that are in opposite ends of the spectrum. Not as bad Isiah’s era with the Knicks, but this will definitely go down as one the worst off season moves in the past decade.

This is interresting as far as a take on last year’s Lakers. Things start at the top with the Buss’ and Kupchack. Mike Brown never had full control and it got even worse when Mike D’Antomi took over. The Kobe-Dwight dynamic should have been controlled better. Phil would have controlled that dynamic better since both Kobe and Dwight have respect for Phil. Alas it never happened. The combination of old fogeys lent itself to injuries. Injuries led to dysfunction on the court. Feuds also lent to the injuries. Mike D’Antoni’s desperation lineups created confusion of roles.

In the meanwhile, Dwight and Kobe continued to make things worse for everyone. I think Dwight’s game 4 ejection and subsequent actions by both Dwight and Kobe afterwards proved to everyone how severe the rift really was. It was symbolic of the season in a whole. The fact is, the Lakers paid for star power but forgot to pick up young role players last year. If anything the role players that are on this year’s squad are a lot better than some stars that they had last year. If anything, the lakera added the right way this summer

I’m happy D12 left my Lakers! Yes, we got a lot worse short term, but in the long term we are better off without him on a max contract. Dwight Howard is a mental midget. When there is some sort of pressure he quickly turns everything into chaos. A max player in LAL must step up and deliver when it matters the most. D12 does not have the mental toughness and quite frankly not even the basketball skills to back it up. Supreme athleticism only takes you so far. D12 is a LeBron but without the basketball skills! When Kobe went down injured, Dwight had to step up and put the team on his shoulders. What did he do? He got himself ejected from the game half way through with 7 points and a few rebounds. That is the definition of a mental midget!

Kobe is a black hole on offense. To say he won without super star talent around him is a joke, Pau Gasol should have won finals MVP in the first championship against Boston because it was his 5 OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS a game that won it, not Bryants sub 40% FG percent. Kobe jacked up a lot of shots at a POOR fg % and if it wasn’t for MVPau Gasol and Bynums HUGE rebounds in those close games they would not have won it.

Kobe is a can, look at what he did wihthout help, all first round exits, Finally he gets Pau Gasol, and Gasol and Bynum carried his 37% FG percentage chucking self to a win. You are all fan boys and don’t know jack about BBALL.

Bynum and Howard are not hall of fame centers. Not that they can never be, but at this point they aren’t. And this story is misleading. Injuries were the main issue and we all know that there were problems between Kobe and Dwight, stop digging up old stuff, Rockets doing their thing and Lakers doing theirs….

Kobe is no team player and no team leader. He’s one of the greatest one on one players of all time but no team player. From the beginning of his career he was jacking up shots like he was the only one on the court. Obviously when you jack up that many shots you’re going to score a lot of points, its really not that impressive. He was lucky to have Shaq and a bunch of smart, hard-nose veterans: Glen Rice, Rick Fox, Big shot Rob, B. Shaw, etc. all playing within Phil’s impeccable system in his first three championships. He was lucky Phil came back the second time around, Odom stayed with them and they got the trade for Gasol and then they got Artest for his next two championships. On his own Kobe might avg 40 points a game but wouldn’t even get the Lakers to the playoffs.

Jordan has OVER THREE shot attempts per game MORE than Bryant over the course of his career (22,9 vs. 19,6)! Bryant hasn’t attempted as many shots in total as Jordan has DESPITE playing 200 MORE games than him. Plus, they both have comparable AST/G (5.3 vs. 4.7).
Why is Bryant being accused of jacking up shots while Jordan is the ultimate team player?

You do realize mj averaged above 50% fg range over his career while kobe, to this point, has averaged around 45% percent from the field. Along with mjs higher offensive efficiency % and his superior defensive capabilities, there is no doubt in my mind that mj was the more dominant player

That’s why I hate Jordan fanboys like you: You DON’T HAVE A CLUE how to interpret statistics!
Jordan DID NOT shoot better. His FG% only SEEMS better because he took WAY LESS THREES than Bryant did. Let’s see how both players square up if we compare the important statistic: POINTS PER SHOT TAKEN
Jordan: 1,30 PPST
Bryant: 1,30 PPST
Both Jordan AND Bryant score 1,3 points for every shot they take! What does that mean? They both scored EXACTLY EQUALLY AS WELL thoughout their careers! They are EXACTLY EQUALLY EFFICIENT!
Had Bryant been as much of a BALL HOG as JORDAN was he would have had the EXACT SAME PPG in his career!
Chew on that FANBOY!

@karwen the kobe di ck lover, mj didn’t shoot as many threes because he knows what his strength is. The fact that he didn’t shoot as many threes because he knows he’s not a great three point shooter just makes him a smart player. In the end Jordan shoots higher % shots than kobe, which is why it is okay for him to take more shots.

How many DPOY and def 1st teams did Kobe collect compared to Jordan – remind me. Finals MVPs? How about titles earned without a dominant center? Factor in that MJs two 3peats would’ve been something like one long 8peat if not for his brief retirement.

And would Kobe have invented on his own the moves and fundamentals he stole from Jordan to base his entire game on?
I think not.

That sir, is a completely unfair comment. Dwight did not provide spacing or create shots. If anything he only created a stagnate offense which Kobe had to cover up for. Yes Kobe took a high volume of shots but at the same time they were efficient and also shots he had to take (his shot-taking carried them to the playoffs). Also shame on Jamison for even shedding light on an already storied work-relationship. He should’ve taken credit for not being able to produce for the team which was another factor which played in to Kobe having to shoulder the load.

PC3 @ SwHTown20 you’re delusional… 3 hall of fame centres left Kobe? or Kobe didn’t want them there.. Bynum was immature, same with Dwight. and Kobe had one of the best seasons ever because he is one of the best ever. what you know about ball? :S

To the guy above….you must have not watched a lot of Lakers games last year to think Kobe scored because of Dwight’s prescense. Lol…also, did you just refer to Bynum as a HOF player??? HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA.

Jamison is selfish, unprofessional and a stiff. Since the day he got to Cleveland, an abomination. But the media has kissed up to him forever, because he almost always cooperates with them. You’ll never read a true and balanced story involving Jamison. This Howard-Cooper nonsense is a case in point.

Of course it was Kobe now 3 Hall Of Famer centers have left the lakers and when you dont have elite talent around Kobe he stinks..Cant nobody get along with his ego /mental disorder..NBA is not about how many points u can score a game when u shoot 27shoots u better get 25pts or higher..Kobe had 1 of the best seasons ever thanks 2 D12 giving him open shots should be thanking him

Who is the third HoF center that went. Regarding Shaq – I should say it’s because of both. Phil initially seemed to blame Kobe, but later returned and won 2 more titles with him. And Shaq seemed to have some critics for everybody that played with him. Don’ get me wrong – I’m not saying Kobe is perfect or Shaq is bad (I like them both) but blaming everything on Kobe doesn’t seem correct. Regards

Kobe had one of the best season because of Dwight….. really…..LOL
He played with Shaq, who is obviously better than dwight, if that was the case he would have had much better numbers back than…. since he was still young and played with a better center, To have a season he had at his current age is not easy to accomplish…. to say he did so because of Dwight is just you being biased/Kobe hater.

shaq and Bynum left a championship Lakers team and Howard left money in the table to play with the rockets. At least Phill Jackson was not afraid to put kobe in his place. It looks like with phill jakson gone no body can tell kobe anything

I couldnt agree with you more. I understand that Kobe is one of the greatest scorers of all time, but i dont understand how so many people think he is one of the greatest players of all time. I would much rather have many players on my team than that selfish wannabe Jordan player.

Um… HELLO!! Wake up an smell the coffee!! Jordan himself said KOBE is one of the greatest of all time.. Him and Bird and Magic and West.. I think they all a little smarter than you.. Kobe=haters motivate= keep hate-in

Kobe is great scorer and any number one scoring option on a Laker championship team will make the HOF and as good as kobe is The Lakers have the upper had when signing free agents. The lakers got Shaq, Paul gasol , Dwight howard and almost signed Chris Paul if was not for the league saying no to the Chris Paul. All this players where the best player on they previous team. When a franchise is the pit stop for allot of great players you will win championships

Kobe doesn’t need superstar talent around him, it shows that he can’t have superstar talent around him. He won without Shaq and when another superstar center was added to the mix the same thing showed. It’s not because he needs a superstar to win, because he doesn’t. It shows that Kobe wants to take control, in more ways than one. He scores, he’s an awesome facilitator and he rebounds. To say he can’t create plays and facilitate is like saying MJ wasn’t the greatest of his era. Kobe wants to carry the load, And by the way 3 hall of famer centers haven’t left him, it’s more like 1 and 1 future hall of famer. Do your homework next time.

there was a reason why kobe did not get alone with him. it was all because dwight was simply a clown. he does not take anyone serious. and ofc Lakers coaches, and owners did not respect him either. He chose a diffferent market thats all on him. wish him the best. Lakers will go different direction.

3 hall of fame centers? Haha I’ll stop you there…I hope you arent referring to andrew bynum. Yes he was a great talent, however he was far from commited on both sides of the ball and the last time I checked you actuslly have to play on the court to be in the HOF.

Shaq was forced out because he wanted a max contract and we know he was not worth that money at that point in his career. I wont deny that the rift with kobe was apart of it but dont just make that about him. Shaq was asking for far too much.

And dwight is a good athletic center but he lacks any real post game which is questionable, given the amont of time hes been in the league and isnt really that dominant for as strong and athletic as he is. If you want to pay a guy a max contract to block a few shots, play great defense and get a few rebounds a game than thats your business. But I can name 3 guys right now that have that same impact on defense and can have plays run for them on offense.

And how was d 12 getting kobe open shots?? No one respects him in the post haha. Ill acknowledge that dwight was hurt and he got treated unfairly for his short comings because he really wasnt supposed to be back until february. But lets not get carried away. Kobe had a great season thanks to kobe. Even with all of the injuries, coaching change and lack of chemistry, kobe was the constant. They still ended the season 28-12 and he still got them to the playoffs giving it everything he had. That guy was playing 48 minutes a game. Kobe is a warrior…FOH!!!

The lakers are very fortunate they didnt waste 130 mil on dwight. Hes a good player but not a max guy. And bynum needed to go, he was never healthy.

Oh and the second hall of fame center is still on the team. Pau gasol!

You are right about Dwight Coward he has no skills and cant even shoot free throws after so many years! (From high school to the pros). Good rebounder and shot blocker that is what he brings. He still needs heart though. Just an average player.

yes William good question. why did shaq won another ring without kobe if he was not worth the money? This year we will see Paul gasol, Bynum and D. Howard have great season without Kobe and all this critics will turn back to kobe or we will turn the page and that page will say Kobe is a great player and teammate.

Wrong dont forget kobe made gasol a superstar and won 2 chips with him… shaq needed kobe and vice versa! D12 is a diva who is limited offensivel despite working 3 h.o.f. ers hakeem, ewing and jabar so it makes perfect sense that kobe had a career year. Dwight is still second fiddle to the beard Houston, he’s nothing more than an athletic defender and 3rd option!

The Lakers have had 4 Hall of Fame Centers
One in Minneapolis (50s) one in the 70s, one in the 80s, and one in the late-90s early 2000s
Bynum is not a Hall of Famer. He doesn’t even have the potential to be a bowling hall of famer, can’t stay healthy doing that either
Dwight Howard is not a Hall of Famer, he thinks intangibles is a dirty word, he can’t post up without fouling (you post with your hips not your arms) and he isn’t as good of a defender or rebounder as it takes to make the Hall without an offensive game (and if catching lobs and making 2 or 3 decent (lucky) post moves per game makes a player a Hall of Famer that Blake Griffin is a shoe-in. Sorry, but a real center like Hakeem, Kareem, or Wilt would put up 50+ on him consistently (actually Kareem might only score 25-30, he is kind of old)

It wasn’t kobe fault it was dwight all bitching bout something. Always crying on and of the court. It was also the coaches fault not knowing how to run a triangle offense. He just doesn’t know how to run an offense period.

It wasn’t kobe fault it was dwight all complaining bout something. Always crying on and of the court. It was also the coaches fault not knowing how to run a triangle offense. He just doesn’t know how to run an offense period.